Former University President Judith Rodin met with the University Board of Trustees one final time two weeks ago for the Board's annual meeting. At last year's meeting, Rodin announced she would be stepping down as president.
Though the June meeting was packed with budgets to pass and capital improvement projects to approve, an air of celebration and farewell dominated the meetings as the trustees gathered to wish Rodin a final farewell.
The goodbyes began on Wednesday evening as the trustees gathered for a private dinner with their spouses, Rodin and her family. The trustees arrived a day early for the dinner in her honor. The following evening, a much larger-scale celebration was held at the National Constitution Center in Center City.
The dinner "was an opportunity for the trustees who have worked so closely with her all these years to say goodbye to each other and to have a little bit of fun at the same time," Trustee Chairman James Riepe said. "Given the large number of people at the gala on Thursday night, we thought that it would be useful to have a bit more intimate opportunity for the trustees to meet with Judy."
At the gala on Thursday, over 500 of Rodin's closest friends, family members, colleagues and supporters gathered to wish her well as she embarked on a still widely speculated upon career path.
"It was wonderful, spectacular event," said University Vice President and General Counsel Wendy White, who served as Rodin's Chief of Staff since the beginning of the spring semester. "So many people from the last ten years of Dr. Rodin's tenure at Penn were there, people who were working here now and people who she cares a lot about who were in the administration before."
"It was just a wonderful reunion," White added. "It was festive, it was fun, it was gorgeous."
Themed "The Spirit of Daring," the celebration gave Rodin a memorable send off -- and Rodin gave a speech that was praised by attendees.
"The speech that she gave was a moving, emotional, clearly from the heart discussion of what Penn meant to her," White said. "It was a wonderful speech -- it brought tears to everyone's eyes."
In a speech filled with heartfelt thank-you's, Rodin reflected on the past and looked to Penn's future.
"I ... can't wait to see where Amy Gutmann leads Penn on the next leg of its amazing journey," Rodin said. "Like me, she will be very lucky to have friends like you, and I wish her enormous success."
"I don't aspire to see my legacy bubble-wrapped," Rodin added. "I want -- and I expect -- Penn to keep changing in ways that none of us can imagine. And change we will."
Though Rodin's emotional speech was a highlight of the evening, festive celebration dominated the event.
"It was in part a celebration certainly of what Judy accomplished as president, but much more so it was a celebration of the progress that Penn made during the last 10 years," Riepe said.
Amid all of the celebration, the University passed a wide array of resolutions. The Trustees approved the University's $4.18 billion budget for the 2005 fiscal year, divided between the Health System's $2.03 billion and $2.15 billion for the academic portion of the budget.
The Facilities and Campus Planning Committee viewed graphic representations of the renovations to the Nursing Education Building, which will improve building flow and visibility.The building -- which currently lacks a valid street address -- will eventually be given an entryway to improve flow to and from the building, as well as a 36th street address. The Trustees also discussed progress on the Life Sciences Building, Skirkanich Hall, the Riverview Project and the School of Veterinary Medicine's Teaching and Research Building.
The Student Life Committee engaged in a lengthy discussion on gender-neutral housing which would allow students to room with others of different genders. If implemented, the policy would apply only to rooms with multiple bedrooms, such as the high rises. The committee plans to continue an exploration of gender neutral housing.
The Academic Policy Committee voted to split the Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies into two departments: the Department of East Asian Languages and Civilization and the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations.
University Vice President for Public Safety Maureen Rush discussed the University's overall drop in crime over the past 10 years, as well as a recent increase in crimes committed by juveniles.
In addition to passing the University's budget, the Budget and Finance Committee passed resolutions to move forward with the sale of the Phoenixville Hospital, an underperforming member of the University Health System. The Trustees approved an additional $1 million in funding for BioAdvance, a state agency which promotes research in life sciences across the state. With the investment, the University will have access to an additional $5 million in research funding.
Gag-wearing members of Graduate Employees Together-University of Pennsylvania greeted the trustees and administrators at the Stated Meeting on June 18. Their non-disruptive protest resembled their quieter-than-usual appearance outside Rodin's gala the night before.
The Stated Meeting on June 18 ended with a resolution of appreciation for University Provost Robert Barchi in light of his upcoming departure, as well as a declaration of Rodin as President Emerita.
"As Penn's president, she has rallied us all to strengthen the academic core, restore our historic buildings and create new ones, revitalize the neighborhood, make the campus safer, internationalize our scope and perspective, dramatically increase our endowment and send our ratings rising, both as one of the most selective Ivy League universities and as one of the top research institutions in the world," the resolution read, in part.
Rodin was equally complimentary of her coworkers throughout the Penn community.
"I have seen so much energy and so much potential still at Penn, and I know that you will continue to build on excellence," Rodin said. "Penn is the hottest Ivy now -- it is very clear in every way, and I am confident that the best is yet to come."
Rodin recalled her comments the day that she was announced as the seventh president of the University of Pennsylvania -- in the Bodek Lounge, where the stated meeting was held.
"I was very brief that day, but I said a number of times that day that Penn will lead the way," Rodin said. "Together, we've done it."
